My daughter will be leaving Virginia to study at Stanford Law later this month and would like to ship her 2000 Honda Accord to CA. We have received warnings about poorly run companies that ship cars and I wondered if any of you might have any suggestions or recommendations! Thanks so much!

Wouldn’t it be a lot simpler for her to drive the car to California? It would be a great way to see the country.

I was passing a car carrier loaded with a variety of cars, all with license plates, on the turnpike recently, and noticed the rear bumper of one of them coming into contact with one of the structural members of the trailer every time the trailer bounced, which was often. This was not doing the bumper any good.

Someone is going to be unhappy when that car gets wherever it’s going.

There are companies that specialize in transporting classic cars. Check Hemmings Motor News or http://www.hemmings.com for names. They probably charge a bit more, but if you have to ship it they would probably be a better bet than an open car carrier.

I can only suggest you get on the web, and start googling shipping companies and look for reviews. You should be able to find more info than you can read when you find the right web sites. People do it all the time, car dealers, military, etc.

She could drive it, as others have suggested, maybe even find another person who wants to share driving to go along.

If that doesn’t appeal, you might try looking for a drive-away car transporter. These are companies that rent your car out to someone who wants to make a one-way trip. The driver gets a car to drive much cheaper than a regular rental, the person who owns the car gets it driven to its new location, and the company that brokers this deal vets the driver and makes sure they deliver on time.